Miller enjoyed ties to S.A. long before Spurs

1of6Kathy Chavez and Sal Guerrero, who operate My Brother’s Bar, are longtime friends of Spurs guard Andre Miller, who they met when he came into their bar with the other members of the University of Utah basketball team after they lost to Kentucky in the NCAA championship game on March 30, 1998. They keep souvenirs debt by Miller in the bar.Photo: Billy Calzada /San Antonio Express-News

2of6Kathy Chavez and Sal Guerrero, who operate My Brother’s Bar, are longtime friends of Spurs guard Andre Miller, who they met when he came into their bar with the other members of the University of Utah basketball team after they lost to Kentucky in the NCAA championship game on March 30, 1998. They keep souvenirs and pictures sent by Miller in the bar.Photo: Billy Calzada /San Antonio Express-News

3of6Kathy Chavez and Sal Guerrero, who operate My Brother’s Bar, are longtime friends of Spurs guard Andre Miller, who they met when he came into their bar with the other members of the University of Utah basketball team after they lost to Kentucky in the NCAA championship game on March 30, 1998. They keep souvenirs and pictures sent by Miller in the bar.Photo: Billy Calzada /San Antonio Express-News

4of6Kathy Chavez and Sal Guerrero, who operate My Brother’s Bar, are longtime friends of Spurs guard Andre Miller, who they met when he came into their bar with the other members of the University of Utah basketball team after they lost to Kentucky in the NCAA championship game on March 30, 1998. They keep souvenirs and pictures sent by Miller in the bar.Photo: Billy Calzada /San Antonio Express-News

5of6Kathy Chavez and Sal Guerrero, who operate My Brother’s Bar, are longtime friends of Spurs guard Andre Miller, who they met when he came into their bar with the other members of the University of Utah basketball team after they lost to Kentucky in the NCAA championship game on March 30, 1998. They keep souvenirs and pictures sent by Miller in the bar.Photo: Billy Calzada /San Antonio Express-News

6of6This photograph of Andre Miller and Kathy Chavez hangs in My Brother’s Bar, which is run by Chavez and Sal Gutierrez. It was made on the night in 1998 when Miller and University of Utah teammates went to the bar after losing to Kentucky in the NCAA tournament.Photo: Billy Calzada /San Antonio Express-News

When Spurs guard Andre Miller describes the 1998 Final Four in San Antonio as the “funnest time in my basketball career, including the NBA,” he’s not just referring to what happened on the court.

Wednesday marks the 18th anniversary of Miller and the Utah Utes losing to the Kentucky Wildcats in the NCAA championship game. A few hours after the contest, he and several teammates walked into a joint called My Brother’s Bar on the northern edge of downtown.

Despite the stinging defeat — the Utes blew a 10-point halftime lead — Miller had a memorable time at the North St. Mary’s Street tavern and left at closing time having made two new friends in proprietors Sal Guerrero and Kathy Chavez. Through the years and his many NBA stops, Miller’s relationship with the couple has deepened to the point where he now views them as much more than friends.

“I consider them family,” said Miller, 40.

“We feel the same way,” said Chavez, 62. “He’s just like a son. I love him.”

Added Guerrero, 55: “He’s real good people.”

It all began with Miller and his teammates looking for a place to unwind after the 78-69 loss to Kentucky.

“We didn’t have anywhere to go,” Miller recalled. “We were college guys barely of age to go anywhere. The bar was the first thing we saw, right across the street from our hotel, and they welcomed us.”

Given the bitter outcome at the Alamodome, Chavez expected the Utes to be in mourning.

But instead of sitting around with long faces, Miller and his teammates shot pool, danced with girlfriends, played darts and devoured Chavez’s hot wings.

“I said, ‘You just got your butts beat. Why are you guys so happy?’” Chavez remembered. “They told me, ‘We are the Cinderella team. Nobody expected us to make it this far, so we’re enjoying ourselves.’”

Indeed, Utah wasn’t even picked to win its conference after losing one of its best players ever, Keith Van Horn, to graduation and the NBA. But led by Miller, a junior, and senior big man Michael Doleac, the Utes started off by winning 18 straight games en route to a 30-4 record and a top-five ranking.

After averaging 14.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists in the regular season for Rick Majerus’ team, Miller raised his game in the tournament to the tune of 16.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists.

“It was in the tournament that Andre blossomed into the superstar he was,” said Drew Hansen, a senior guard and co-captain on the team who now works as an attorney in California. “Coach Majerus let up on the reins and told him before the tournament, ‘This is your show, so really direct it,’ and Andre ratcheted up his play several levels.”

Said Doleac: “Andre picked us up and put us on his shoulders.”

No. 3-seeded Utah reached its first Final Four in 32 years by beating the defending national champion Arizona Wildcats 76-51 in Anaheim, California, a victory they celebrated by dancing in the shower while still wearing their uniforms. In San Antonio, the Utes toppled North Carolina, the No. 1 overall seed, 65-59 behind Miller’s 16 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists to reach the school’s first national-title game in 54 years.

“That whole run, every game was fun,” Miller said. “We never took anybody for granted. We had a quiet confidence that if we went out and executed the game plan, we would have the opportunity to win.”

But the fairy tale ended against Kentucky before a crowd of 40,509 at the dome after Utah failed to protect a four-point lead with less than six minutes left.

Afterward, Majerus, who died in 2012, blamed himself for the loss, saying he didn’t rest his starters enough. Miller logged a game-high 37 minutes.

“Andre looked like a punch-drunk fighter, standing on his last legs,” Majerus said afterward.

Miller and his teammates recovered at My Brother’s Bar. Doleac, who was born in San Antonio, where his grandparents lived, said he has vivid memories of the postgame party.

“I remember I had too much to drink,” said Doleac, who, to this day, has never watched a replay of the game. “It was great of them to host us and let us unwind and commiserate. It was a tough night, but hanging out at the bar was a great experience for us.”

Doleac, now a high school physics teacher in Park City, Utah, said it was always fun spending time with Miller.

“He’s probably my favorite teammate, one of the best guys I’ve ever played with,” said Doleac, an NBA champion with Miami in 2006. “He’s honest and genuine. When he tells you something, he means it. I would love to be on the court with him again.”

Hansen agreed, saying: “I just love the guy.”

As she said her goodbyes that night, Chavez gave Miller her business card and told him, “We will be watching you.”

After Cleveland picked him eighth overall in the 1999 NBA draft, Miller popped back into the bar to say hello during a road trip to San Antonio. Shortly thereafter, Chavez and Guerrero visited Miller in Cleveland at his request. Similar trips ensued to several of his stops during his 17-season career.

Miller is particularly fond of Chavez’s cooking and the treats she provides him from other San Antonio establishments, including tamales. His favorites include her enchiladas and queso.

“He tells me I try to get him fat,” said Chavez, who often would drop off food with Miller before he boarded the team bus after games, a practice that earned her the nickname “Tamale Lady.”

A comfortable, roomy establishment with a sizable dance floor, My Brother’s Bar is filled with signs of Miller’s friendship with the owners, including a recent Christmas card that includes a picture of his son Duane, who plays high school basketball in Arizona. One wall is filled with framed pictures of Miller and his many teammates and coaches through the years.

“Andre had a birthday party here one year when he was with the Nuggets,” Chavez said. “He had chicken enchiladas and his favorite strawberry cake.”

Chavez and Guerrero were thrilled when Miller told them in late February he was going to sign with the Spurs. Recently, the three of them went to a fish fry at St. Luke Baptist Church on the West Side. But mainly Miller just enjoys hanging out at the bar and shooting pool with Guerrero, who is as soft-spoken and unassuming as his NBA friend.

“He feels comfortable here,” Chavez said. “He doesn’t ever drink and he knows we don’t do drugs or anything like that. We just sit and talk and listen to the music.”

Their conversations sometimes turn to Miller’s mother, who raised him in south central Los Angeles, where he played basketball on the streets of Compton and Watts.

“He’s just so humble, and a lot of that comes from his mother, who is wonderful,” Chavez said. “They are very close. His mama sacrificed a lot for him, and now it’s his turn to take care of her. He’s one of those pro athletes that remembers mama.”

Chavez enjoys sharing the story of the time Miller bought his mother a silver Lexus only to find out she donated it to her church to raffle for $10 a chance because it needed to raise money.

“Andre has that same demeanor,” Chavez said. “He’s just the most humble, wonderful person anyone could ever meet. He’s just a really nice guy, and I don’t think anyone who knows him can say anything bad about him.”

After three years as a part-time employee covering mainly high school sports, Tom Orsborn became a full-time employee at the Express-News in October 1985. He's covered the Dallas Cowboys and the NFL since 1999 and has also covered the Spurs, the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, and a variety of other events, including 14 Super Bowls.